How to Ease the Pain in Setting Up a Wi-Fi Network

AFTER watching the technical-support team grapple with network problems at the office, the idea of setting up a wireless network at home can have you reaching for the aspirin before you hit the electronics store. Some of the most common concerns are how do you share your broadband Internet connection, and how do you protect yourself from someone hacking into your network?

But many wireless network setup woes can be remedied easily, if you know what to look for.

Before You Buy

Even if you haven't bought the parts for your wireless network yet, there are a few things to keep in mind so that the process will be as painless as possible when you get the hardware boxes unpacked.

A wireless network typically consists of two to three elements: an access point or base station to transmit the network's signal around the house (it is usually combined with a network router), and wireless network cards installed on each computer so they can receive the signal and connect to the network. In many home networks, the access point is connected to a broadband cable or DSL modem, so that all the computers on the network can use the high-speed Internet connection.

Wireless networking gear comes in 802.11a, 802.11b and 802.11g standards. Both 802.11b and 802.11g use the 2.4-gigahertz frequency to transmit their signals, but 802.11g can transfer data at a much higher rate. The 802.11a technology can be as fast as 802.11g, but it operates in the 5-gigahertz frequency. When buying equipment, make sure the access point and wireless cards are compatible — say, all 802.11g or a mix of 802.11b and 802.11g equipment — so that all the devices on the network speak the same language.

Networking equipment for the new high-speed 802.11n technology is also starting to appear in stores, even though the industry has not finalized the standard. Experts warn that this early hardware may not work with the final version of the 802.11n expected to come out later this year. The 802.11n system, which uses multiple radio signals to improve network performance, works with 802.11b and 802.11g equipment.

Many laptops now come with a wireless card already inside. If you have such a laptop, check to see which type of card is installed and make sure you buy a compatible access point. If you are shopping for networking products online, you can use D-Link's Network Configurator 3.0 (www.dlink.com/configurator), for example, to help you decide what kind of network you want to create for the computers you want to connect. The configurator then suggests the right equipment to buy.

Installation

Just about every maker of network hardware includes software programs written to guide you through the network-configuration process. At least one company, Linksys, puts stickers over the jacks on its hardware, which advise running the setup software before connecting anything. The stickers and color-coded charts showing how to connect the modem's cables have led to a noticeable drop in calls to the company's technical support hot line.

Mani Dhillon, the director of product marketing for Linksys, said the company introduced the stickers and charts after studying how its customers tried to install the new equipment, often incorrectly.

"Traditionally, people just sometimes plug them in and expect them to work, and a lot of times they do work," Mr. Dhillon said. "But sometimes there are issues with the way their broadband provider had set up their network that make it difficult to work without putting in a password."

Some broadband providers do require their customers to enter their user names and passwords, or a specific Internet address, while configuring their networks.

Photo

Credit
Alicia Buelow

To simplify the process, Mr. Dhillon said the Linksys setup software automatically detects existing settings on the computer and transfers them to the correct places.

Other network hardware companies like Netgear also include software wizards to guide nervous users through the setup.

When preparing network equipment from any manufacturer, it is a good idea to have the account information from your broadband provider handy. You might have to type in your user account name and password during the configuration process.

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Most software wizards that are included with network base stations, like Apple's AirPort Express setup assistant program, will walk you through selecting a name (also called a Service Set Identifier, or S.S.I.D.) and password for your network. These steps are important, since they protect the network from people pilfering your bandwidth for unsavory reasons.

Two major types of wireless network security are Wired Equivalent Privacy, or WEP, and the much stronger Wi-Fi Protected Access, or W.P.A. Both encrypt the data traveling on your network airwaves.

If you are trying to get your security settings in place but the computers can't find the network, make sure your wireless network cards are compatible with the encryption used by the base station, and that the passwords are the proper type and length.

Again, most access points include software wizards to guide you through this somewhat arcane process as smoothly as possible. Some new Linksys routers and wireless network cards even feature glowing buttons, which when pressed in the proper sequence will randomly create the S.S.I.D. and a W.P.A. encryption code for each computer to use to securely connect to the network.

If you have the hardware installed and configured properly, but your computer picks up only a weak or intermittent network signal, you might try moving the access point to another location. Wi-Fi signals can be hampered by walls, doors or large furniture between access point and computer. Placing the access point in a central location and up high — on top of a bookshelf or a cabinet — may improve reception.

If you live in a large house, adding another access point to your network can increase its coverage area. The extra access point can pick up the signal from your first access point and make it available to computers too far from the original one. Connecting an external antenna, like the ExtendAIR Omni antenna ($99.95; available at drbott.com) for Apple's AirPort base stations, can also broadcast the network signal to those distant corners of the house.

Sometimes networks have enough range, but they suffer from occasional slowness or interruption. In many cases, interference from other electronic devices may be the culprit. If your network traffic grinds to a halt when you are microwaving a bag of popcorn, it's probably the microwave oven temporarily interfering with your network signal. Other devices that operate on the 2.4-gigahertz frequency, like cordless phones or baby monitors, can also result in a welter of radio signals causing network slowness.

Mr. Dhillon of Linksys offered one more bit of advice to home network administrators: use the CD that comes with your network hardware.